Accountability, Representation and the Future of the 12 Refugee Seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly
Date: 28 May 2025
In Continuation of: JKCHR’s earlier memorandum on refugee representation in AJK Assembly
I. Introduction
This Memorandum responds to the ongoing debate on proposals to scrap the 12 reserved seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, which represent the displaced populations from Jammu and Kashmir Valley and Jammu Province, now living across the four provinces of Pakistan. These seats were designed not as political favours but as constitutional and moral instruments to ensure that the most marginalised—those forcibly removed from their ancestral homes—retain political visibility and agency.
JKCHR contends that scrapping these seats without establishing a process of accountability and performance review would amount to the formal disenfranchisement of a displaced community. Such a move contradicts Pakistan’s international obligations under the UNCIP Resolutions and undermines the foundational promise of the AJK Assembly to act as a trustee of the people of Jammu and Kashmir until the final disposition of the State.
II. Three Distinct Categories of Representation
1. Displaced and Disenfranchised:
- The 12 refugee seats were created to represent persons forcibly displaced from Jammu and Kashmir Valley and Jammu Province during conflict.
- These citizens now vote in Pakistan’s National and Provincial Assemblies and also vote for reserved seats in the AJK Assembly.
- Their political identity as refugees is protected under international law, and these reserved seats are not privileges but instruments of redress and continuity.
2. Reservation in Settled Territories:
- The Constitution of Azad Jammu and Kashmir reserves 12 seats for refugees living in settled parts of Pakistan, while the Constitution of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (under its now-defunct Article 48) reserved 24 seats for citizens of AJK, acknowledging them despite their settled status.
- This mirror image underlines the symbolic and political necessity of retaining representation for displaced populations.
- In this context, the refugee seats in AJK do not represent a settled population but a displaced and disenfranchised constituency, thereby requiring greater rather than lesser constitutional protection.
3. Diaspora Representation:
- The AJK Constitution includes one seat for Kashmiris living abroad. Many Azad Kashmiris in the UK and other countries have become councillors, mayors, MPs, and Lords while maintaining their Kashmiri identity.
- Over 20 countries globally recognise diaspora political representation, demonstrating that geographical distance does not dissolve political identity.
- This reinforces the principle that the displaced should not be silenced merely due to territorial dislocation.
III. Principle of Vote as a Trust – Not a Number Game
It is important to acknowledge that the 12 refugee constituencies are smaller in population size compared to the territorial constituencies of locally elected members in AJK. However, their constitutional and moral importance is not diminished by their smaller voter base.
The principle at stake is not numerical equality, but constitutional parity and protection of disenfranchised voices. Representation is a matter of right and justice, not arithmetic.
This is best illustrated by the example from Gujarat, India, where a polling booth is established every election cycle in the Banej forest for a single registered voter, Hindu monk Mahant Haridas Udaseen. The booth is manned by six election officials and two policemen for the entire day, despite the fact that no other voter exists in the area. The commitment here is to democratic integrity, not voter count.
Likewise, in the context of AJK, the vote of a displaced person carries the same constitutional weight as any other citizen’s vote. Denying that representation because the constituency is small betrays both the spirit of justice and international norms of protecting displaced communities.
IV. Abuse and Breach of Trust by Refugee Members
Despite the foundational importance of these 12 refugee seats, the performance of their elected representatives has been dismal. They have:
- Failed to advocate for the rights of the displaced.
- Contributed nothing towards legislation for public good.
- Remained silent or complicit in undermining the UN template for a plebiscite.
- Acted as instruments of political manipulation by major parties and the establishment in Pakistan.
- Frequently enabled or destabilised governments in AJK, serving as political pawns in a number game rather than guardians of displaced constituencies.
This systemic failure has eroded public trust and delegitimised these seats in the eyes of the local electorate—rightly so.
However, the betrayal by representatives does not invalidate the constituency. Instead, it calls for accountability mechanisms, not abolition.
V. A Crisis Involving All 53 Members
It must be noted that all 53 members of the AJK Assembly have been part of a broader regime of deceit and dysfunction, far removed from their oath and duties. The misuse of the 12 refugee members as power brokers reflects deeper malaise in the Assembly’s operations, including quid pro quo politics, the erasure of voter intent, and a departure from the fundamental purpose of self-determination.
VI. Recommendations and Remedies
1. Enforce Accountability:
- Establish a Constitutionally Mandated Review Commission to audit the performance of all members, especially refugee members, on metrics including legislative output, voter engagement, and alignment with UNCIP directives.
2. Reaffirm Representation, Reform Process:
- Maintain the 12 refugee seats, but impose performance-linked continuation criteria, such as:
- Annual constituency forums.
- Transparent public accountability reports.
- Compulsory UN and constitutional training.
3. Introduce Voter Recall Mechanisms:
- Empower displaced voters to initiate recall proceedings against non-performing refugee representatives via petitions and referendums within their constituencies.
4. End Political Instrumentalisation:
- Prohibit use of refugee members in Assembly vote-buying or regime manipulation.
- Mandate independent scrutiny of party lists and candidates for these constituencies to ensure candidates meet democratic and legal standards.
5. Educate and Mobilise the Constituency:
- Launch a public legal education campaign among refugee communities to ensure informed voting, and to rebuild political agency in these groups.
VII. Conclusion
The sanctity of representation must not be violated due to numerical bias or political opportunism. Scrapping the 12 refugee seats would be a constitutional and humanitarian injustice—a final disenfranchisement of people already displaced from their homeland.
The model of one vote in the forests of Gir in Gujarat reminds us that democracy protects the dignity of every voice, however few in number. Likewise, the refugee vote in AJK must be honoured not as a numerical advantage but as a constitutional and moral obligation.
JKCHR urges the government, civil society, and the international community to support a stringent accountability framework rather than succumbing to the temptation of erasure. These seats must be preserved and purified—not abolished and forgotten.
Prepared by:
JKCHR Policy Desk
In Public and Constitutional Interest
For submission to AJK authorities, AJ&K Council, Government of Pakistan, legal forums, civil society platforms and UN agencies,
For clarification or enquiry, please contact:
📧 admin@jkchr.org
Dr. Syed Nazir Gilani
President, Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights
(In Special Consultative Status with the United Nations)